


Marriage Material

by eternalia



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Childhood Friends, F/M, Fluff, Pen Pals, Rating May Change, Teenage Dorks, Teenage Shenanigans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:42:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28987269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eternalia/pseuds/eternalia
Summary: “So, when I’m taller than you, you promise to marry me?”“That’ll never happen, Kristoff! You’re never gonna grow taller than me!”In which Kristoff comes back to his childhood town after years have passed and reunites with his best friend.
Relationships: Anna/Kristoff (Disney)
Comments: 44
Kudos: 69





	1. Kristoff

He was eight when he met the neighbors next door.

Finally adopted into a warm and loving family, he was excited to meet other kids in the area. He wandered over one snowy day in winter, beanie tugged over his ears and cheeks blotchy and red from the onslaught of wind. Shaggy tufts of blond hair peeked out from his hat.

He watched as the two girls giggled as they piled on buckets of snow on top of each other. One was slowly but surely rolling a ball of snow about waist high and grunting with exertion as she slowly moved the giant ball of snow to the center of the yard.

Fear gripped him as he watched them play. Would they be like the kids at school?

_Orphan! Orphan! Orphan!_

He heard the phantom chants as he was surrounded in his ears, even though he was far, far away from the school now.

What caught his attention next was a smaller girl running back and forth with a small bucket of snow. He had to chuckle as she fell onto her stomach a few times. But each time she got back up, her two pigtails swinging and with a giggle that rang clear and happily across the courtyard. Her hair was warm, like a fire, he thought.

It was then that she noticed him staring over the shrub that lined their fence.

“Hey!” she called out, waving a pink mitton above her head at him.

He ignored her and ducked his head.

“Hey!” she called again, closer this time.

He peeked an eye upwards and flushed as he saw her round face peeking over the fence. She had a huge grin.

“Whatcha doing here?” she asked.

“I uh—just wanted to see what all the yelling was about.” He felt his cheeks burn as his gaze shifted downwards towards his boots. He kicked the snow a bit, hands in his pockets.

“Oh. We’re building a snowman!” she happily exclaimed. Her arms went flailing as she lost her grip on the fence.

“Whoa! You okay?” He tried looking over the fence but she was gone. He heard the click of the gate and there she was at his side, looking at him with a wide grin.

“Come over here! It’ll be faster with more people!” He felt a tentative smile pull at his lips as he walked over.

“I’m Anna!” she said as he reached her. She pointed over to the blonde who was looking at him cautiously. “That’s my sister, Elsa.”

“Kristoff.” His voice was quiet.

“It’s nice to meet you, Kristoff! We’re going to be best friends!”

And she grabbed onto his hands, pulling him along to make snowmen that littered across their lawn. He felt a stutter in his heart, but he didn’t know what it was.

All he knew was that he had made his first ever friend.

* * *

From then on, it was Anna who had rung the doorbell of his house almost everyday after school, asking for him to play outside.

Sometimes, he would watch from his window as she walked away with a pout, Bulda having to send her off because he had homework to do. He watched sadly as she played in the yard by herself, Elsa not keeping her company most days.

He always made sure to complete his homework on time and as early as possible, showing it to Bulda in a flash and rushing out the door to meet her.

She always opened the gate for him, yelling out his name and giving him a hug, her tiny arms wrapping around his torso. Her hair was longer now, and she still kept it in braids.

But one winter day he didn’t see her for a week. Every time he rang the doorbell of her house, her mother looked at him with sad blue eyes and shook her head sadly.

“Is she okay?” he asked, he felt so worried for his friend.

“She’s been very sick.” And so he would have to leave, always wondering where his friend was.

It was another week before he saw her again. He dashed out of the house as he heard her outside, and the big smile she gave him made him so relieved.

“Kristoff! I missed you!” Her tiny arms wound around him.

“Where were you?” He didn’t want to admit that he missed her too.

“I was really sick, I stayed out for too long with Elsa one day. It was so boring! All I did was stay in my room and sleep, and it was so hot! I was sweating and it was so gross!” Her face scowled in disgust, one eye closed. He chuckled.

“Well, it’s good to have you back.” He coughed. “It’s been boring without you.”

“Yeah! Come on let’s go down to the river!”

She tugged him along and the winter season passed on.

It was a refreshing spring day now and they were playing in the grass, Anna trying her best to weave a flower garland. Her tongue stuck out as she tried to weave in a flower (that they didn’t steal from the neighbor’s porch, no sir) into the braid. She huffed as she failed, shoving the flower garland into the ground.

Kristoff held up a fairly nice, intact garland for her. He watched as her eyes lit up like stars, jaw dropping.

“ _Wow!_ ” she said, elongating the word as her lashes blinked rapidly in surprise. “Kristoff, you’re really good at this!”

He felt himself flush. He also tried to tamp down the giddy feeling he had at Anna gushing over something he made.

“It’s just like in those movies! Like in—what is it called?” She frowned as she thought. “A wedding!”

“A wedding?” He blinked. Weren’t they really important? Something only grown ups did.

“Yeah! I can’t wait to get married.” Her eyes turned dreamy and she sighed. “It’s so romantic!”

“I’ll marry you.” He flushed but he didn’t take the words back. He didn’t want to.

“Really?”

“Yeah. Later.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“Hmm. I don’t know. You’re not tall enough.”

“What?” His jaw dropped.

“Yeah! In the movies, the guy is always taller than the girl! And really handsome!” She raised her arm way over her head.

He thought for a moment. “So, when I’m taller than you, you promise to marry me?”

“That’ll never happen, Kristoff! You’re never gonna grow taller than me!” Her giggle rang through the field.

“Watch me!” He stuck his tongue out at her.

She giggled. “Okay, when you do, I’ll marry you! But that won’t happen so don’t hold your breath.”

“You never know!” He dove after her but she ducked away, laughing. They spent the rest of the afternoon chasing each other in the field.

* * *

“Kristoff! Promise me that you’ll write to me!” Her eyes were full of tears as she stood next to him, his parents packing away his things.

He was twelve years old now.

And he would be placed into a boarding school and he didn’t want to go. He didn’t want to leave Anna.

“I will. Promise you’ll write to me too.” He had given her a slip of paper with the address of his new school written on it. He had written it three times, wanting it to be perfectly legible. He had already memorized Anna’s address long ago.

“Kristoff! It’s time to go!” His mom’s voice called out after him.

“Bye, Anna.” He said to her sadly. Her large doe eyes blinked rapidly, and she wiped her nose. The sight made him want to cry too.

“Bye, Kristoff.” She wrapped her arms around him as tight as she possibly could, and he buried his face in her soft hair.

He watched her from the back window as the car drove away, seeing her wave to him until she was just a small dot on the horizon.

* * *

Settling into his new room was a challenge. He didn’t know who he would be living with, and he hoped they would be at least amicable. He hoped they weren’t like the other kids at his old school. Desperately.

He unpacked boxes of his stuff, setting down a picture of his family, and his planner on his desk. Tucked inside was Anna’s address written in her loopy cursive.

The door opened and a boy with a curly mop of brown hair came in and sat down on the bed.

“Oh, hey! So you took that side eh?” He gave Kristoff an easy grin.

“Yeah, is that okay? I didn’t know what side you wanted but I was here for an hour already and wanted to unpack.” He turned his eyes down to the boxes. “I can move everything if you want.”

He flushed as he rambled. It felt like something Anna would do. He already missed his friend by the telling ache in his chest.

“Nah, I don’t care. Don’t wanna undo your work there.” He flopped onto his bed. “Good on you though, for unpacking. I never finish unpacking until about a month in.”

Kristoff chuckled. “I just don’t like leaving things packed.” He finally knew he had a place to go back to, after all.

“Better than me. I’m Sven, by the way.” He sat up and held his hand out.

Kristoff grasped it firmly. “Kristoff.”

“Nice to meet you! Here’s to a good year together!”

Kristoff smiled in relief, the apprehension and nervousness draining away at his easy grin and bright eyes.

“Same here.”

* * *

_Dear Anna,_

_I made a new friend. His name is Sven, and he’s my roommate. He reminds me of you, actually. He laughs a lot and nothing seems to get him down. We stay up late playing games most nights, and then I have to wake him up everyday to get to class on time. He also snores really loudly, like you._

_Dear Kristoff,_

_That’s great! I can’t wait to meet this Sven, if he can get along with you then he has to be a great guy. :P Elsa has been staying in her room studying all day. I miss her a lot, but my mom and dad make me stay away. Is that what high school does to you? If so, I don’t want to go!_

_P.S. I don’t snore that loudly!_

_Dear Anna,_

_It’s really gonna depend on the high school. There’s a lot of different things to consider. Also, I’m technically in high school and I’m not cooped up in my room all the time. That’s just something your parents are doing._

_P.S. Yes you do. One time I could hear you snoring all the way from my house._

_Dear Kristoff,_

_Nope! Not gonna go. They’re gonna have to drag me by my feet every morning to school. But that reminds me, I’m going to graduate middle school soon. It’s really weird to think about. Is it okay to be scared?_

He read his latest email from Anna on his laptop. They had started emailing each other when Anna had gotten a computer from her parents, and he looked forward to opening his mail every morning. He was fifteen now and Anna was fourteen.

He still kept the letters that were sent to him, nearly stacked in a box. Though he liked the loopy cursive that gradually got better over the years, he found out very quickly that Anna was as expressive through email, using emoticons like there was no tomorrow. It was almost like reading hieroglyphics.

He typed out a reply, Sven’s snores almost a comforting background noise now during his morning routine. Almost.

He was grateful that he could choose his roommate for the past few years, and Sven had agreed. They were the best of friends, aside from Anna, of course.

“So, when am I gonna see your girlfriend?” Sven asked, popping some chips into his mouth.

Kristoff sputtered. “What?”

“Yeah, your girlfriend! You literally wake up for her emails, dude!” He tossed a chip over to Kristoff, and he grimaced as it landed on his shirt. But he picked it up and ate it anyway. He didn’t want to waste a chip.

“She’s not my girlfriend. I haven’t even seen her since I was like, twelve.” He rolled his eyes. But a part of him did wonder, what did she look like now? Would she still be wearing her two braids? What about her braces that she had to go through?

He scratched his head as he recalled from one of her last emails that she did want to meet Sven. He did talk about him a lot.

“Wanna send her a picture? She wants to meet you.”

Sven’s grin was all he needed and he awkwardly snapped a picture with his camera, and uploaded it onto the email.

_This is Sven, he says hi._

He sent it before he could second guess himself, nerves filling his entire body. He would wait and see what she would say. He looked at the picture again and he saw his awkward smile compared to Sven’s exuberant one, but a warmth filled him at seeing it.

But Anna sent a picture of herself wearing a flower crown the next morning and he couldn’t take his eyes off of it. She was so pretty, her freckles shining in the sun with her signature braids that he remembered.

He didn’t say that, of course. Instead he wrote: _You’re getting better at making flower crowns._

But he saved the picture from her, and the one he took with Sven. He printed them out and saved it in his box.

* * *

He was eighteen now, and the years have been good for him. Kristoff had joined the rugby team, at Sven’s insistence, when he had shot up in height one summer. Sven had teased him mercilessly for hours one day as he noticed his pants were now too short and his ankles awkwardly showed.

They ended up wrestling on the ground with the angry hall monitor breaking them apart and yelling at them. They couldn’t stop laughing after that, chucking chips at each other in jest.

Sven was also tall but was leaner than him. The rugby coach made him do strength training three times a week, and he ran around the school during practice. It got out some frustration, and it was a good distraction from thinking about other things.

College for one. Where would he go? What would he do?

He wanted to go back to the small town of Arendelle, knowing Anna wanted to stay. She told him that she wanted to be a schoolteacher there. He grinned at the thought of it, she’d be perfect as one.

Admittedly he wondered if she was involved with someone yet. With how pretty she was, there had to be guys falling at her feet.

And then the promise he made when he was eight rang in his head. He was sure that he was much taller than her now.

 _I grew two inches over the summer!_ she had written in one of her emails, and he had to laugh as he himself had gone through a massive growth spurt.

 _Still a short stack,_ he wrote back.

Her angry replies had him laughing out of his chair, and he had dubbed her “feisty pants.” All of his emails had “Dear feisty pants” written in the beginning now.

But the best thing was, he had gotten a cell phone. And Anna had begged her parents to get her one, and while they still sent emails as was their tradition, they sent each other text messages and the occasional phone calls.

He was so nervous the first time she called that he stuttered and stammered and Sven was silently cackling on his bed, clutching his stomach. His face burned bright and hot that day, but hearing Anna talk after years made him happy in a way that he never knew was possible.

They called each other weekly, usually on Saturdays, unless there was a game. He had so much to look forward to now.

Despite her insistence at sending her new pictures of him and Sven, he really didn’t and he grinned secretly at the thought of how much taller he was and how shocked she would be.

He sent her pictures of winning rugby games though, of the big grins he and Sven wore, but never more than his face.

Anna had sent him pictures of her in her prom dress, and his jaw dropped. Her hair was braided up in an elegant bun, little flowers woven into her hair. The dress was a light green and strapless, hugging her chest and waist, and flowed out to her heels. A pearl necklace sparkled around her neck and he couldn’t take his eyes off of her gentle smile.

She said she was going with this guy named Hans, and he nearly boiled with jealousy. He knew about him already, from the way she spoke about him talking to her for the first time at school, and then more.

Now she was at prom, and he hated the fact that she was with him, though he didn’t even know this guy. He could have been a perfectly good gentleman for all he knew. He was self aware enough that he knew it was just him being jealous.

He worked out a lot at the gym that night, Sven accompanying him in a silent show of support as he spotted him through his routine, pushing himself harder than he ever did before. He would be forever grateful to Sven. He already was, since he was his best friend. Well, best guy friend.

And then in the middle of the night, his phone rang. It was midnight and he blearily woke up, muscles aching, nearly knocking over his bedside lamp reaching for the tiny flip phone.

“Hello?” he yawned. Who could be calling him?

“Kristoff?” Some sniffles came through and he bolted up in bed, alert and now fully awake.

“Anna? What happened? Are you okay?” he said. Why was she crying?

“I just wanted someone to talk to,” she mumbled quietly and his heart nearly broke at how sad she sounded. She wasn’t supposed to sound like that, ever.

He noticed Sven roll over and turn on the light, his half closed eyes watching him in question. _It’s Anna,_ he mouthed, and Sven nodded, turned off the lamp, and put his pillow over his head. He’d buy him a bunch of snacks in the morning, he promised himself.

“Anna, what happened?” he gently prodded.

“It’s Hans!” she lightly exclaimed. “He stood me up, he was supposed to pick me up to go to prom but he never showed. So I went by myself and there he was with someone else. I went up to him to ask him but he brushed me off.”

Kristoff tensed with her words, and the more she talked about him. He remembered how light her voice had sounded talking about him, how in love she had sounded. Now the day that was so special to her and that she had looked forward to for _months_ was ruined because of this asshole.

“I’m gonna go and tackle him.” He growled.

A light giggle accompanied with a soft sniffle made him feel a bit better. “I doubt that. He plays football, you know.”

“And I play rugby. I’m not even protected with anything when people tackle me. He won’t stand a chance.” He heard her laugh and he grinned.

“I just—I was just looking forward to this, and now it’s ruined.”

“You’ll have another chance.” He didn’t know much about prom, but there had to be another chance sometime, right?

“No, there won’t. Not like this.” Her voice was far away in some other dreamland and he wanted to pull her back to reality.

“I’ll take you somewhere special one day. Like a prom.”

“Really?”

“I promise,” he adamantly said.

“Careful there, you already have a promise you can’t keep.”

“Oh?” He raised a brow, knowing she couldn’t see him.

“Remember? You said that if you grew taller than me you would marry me.” She giggled.

“Yeah, I think I can keep that promise.” A light scoff from her. “Seriously.”

“Okay. I believe you.” Though the way she said made him believe that she really didn’t. But he swore he could hear her smiling over the phone.

“Well, I’m coming back for the summer. You’ll see then.”

A gasp. “Really?”

“Yeah, after graduation.” Then he would have to think about what to do in terms of college. He already applied to some and got accepted but he needed to make a decision.

“Wow! I mean—wow! I can’t believe it!” His smile grew wider. “I can’t wait! I mean, the town hasn’t really changed but we can go to Oaken’s and hang out by the creek again! Just like old times!” He could just picture her hands waving as she talked, excitement clear in her voice.

“Yeah, we can.”

“And the field too! Oh there’s actually a movie theater we can go to now, and a new place opened that sells a great gelato!”

She rambled on and on, and the night grew into early morning as she excitedly recounted all the new things she could do. With all the things she said about the town, he wondered if it even stayed the same. It seems like a lot has changed.

“I can’t wait for you to come back,” Anna said softly, wistfully. “I really miss you.”

“I do too. The month will be over before you know it.” He yawned. Damn if he was gonna be super tired today during class, but it would be worth it.

“I should let you go.” Anna said, but she paused and he smiled, eyes dropping and feeling heavier by the second.

“Mm.” he said, intelligently.

“Good night, Kristoff,” she said.

“G’night,” he slurred. And shut his phone off and promptly fell asleep. Sven had to literally roll him out of bed to wake him up in the morning. Now that was a role reversal.

* * *

Kristoff was sitting on the train back to the town. He was looking through his old messages to Anna, the most recent one promising that she would meet him at the train platform, right on time.

He could barely sit still, he was so nervous at what she would think upon seeing him. He was sure that she was still a short stack, and he would tower over her. He was one of the tallest people on the rugby team, after all.

And as he got closer and closer to Arendelle, he sent a quick text to her saying he was almost there. The hours seemed to drag as the long train ride continued. He never realized how far away his childhood town really was from his desolate boarding school in the middle of nowhere.

His leg bounced as he looked out the window, twiddling his fingers, anything to pass the time quicker. Until finally, _finally_ , the announcer said that they arrived in Arendelle, and the train kidded to a stop.

He nervously grasped his backpack and duffle bag, easily hauling it over his shoulder. And he stepped out on the bright and sunny platform.

He looked around, and an incoming text came in from Anna.

_Where are you? I’m by the ticket kiosk!_

He walked over to where it was, and he spotted her. All petite and wearing a yellow top and denim shorts, with some sandals and it literally took his breath away. Her hair was down to her lower back now, longer than ever and loose and free with a braid weaving through the loose waves. In the sun, it glinted a fiery orange and he felt like he was basking in the sun itself. She was even more pretty in person and he felt something in him flutter.

She was biting her lip, on the lookout for him but facing the opposite direction. And he walked up to her.

“Anna.”

She turned around, and she had to look up, and up at him. And her smile was brilliant and beautiful, and the only thing he ever needed.

“Kristoff! Wow.” She gasped, and he had to chuckle as she blushed, hard.

“Come here.” He opened his arms and she grinned before literally jumping into them, arms wrapping around his neck and he buried his face in her hair. It still smelled the same as back then.

They let go and she stood in front of him, still smiling.

He leaned down at her and said, “Do you see how tall I am now?”

Her blush got even more red and she smacked his chest before starting to walk away, turning around to see if he would follow.

He did. He always would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh I had so much fun writing this! I was really excited to post this here, so here you are!
> 
> Let me know what you think! Kudos and comments are very much appreciated. 🥰
> 
> Find me on [tumblr](https://eternaliax3.tumblr.com/)!


	2. Anna

Anna nervously walked through the train station, one foot in front of the other as she felt the presence of her best friend who came back (finally) after not seeing him for nearly six years. In her mind, she could have only pictured the slightly scrawny boy who chased her through the fields, with a shy grin and warm brown eyes. 

She snuck a glance over to her side, watching him as he easily loped alongside her carrying a large duffel bag over his broad shoulder. 

He played rugby. _Of course_ he would be tall and strong, and honestly she didn’t realize how stupid she had been to not know that. She only saw the pictures he had sent her and his shy but happy grins had stayed the same, unchanged. She had completely been blindsided and it was no wonder he didn’t send her any full body shots of himself. He probably wanted to surprise her when he came back.

And she was surprised. 

The first glance at him had her gasping at him as she had to look way up at his wide grin. But she knew it was him. She couldn’t forget that smile and those warm eyes. Even his hug had stayed the same, and she felt warm and safe as she wrapped her arms around his neck and he held her safely in his arms, lifting her off the ground a bit.

“Huh, you’re right. It still looks the same.” 

They had stepped out of the train station into the main street, and as it was a weekend day it wasn’t too busy. Kristoff had stopped in his tracks, taking in the sights while Anna smiled. The shops lined the sides of the street with colorful tarps and signs, and the wonderful smells of freshly baked goods wafted to their noses. 

“Yeah, I told you!” Anna said, twirling around to face him. “There’s a few new shops here and there, but there’s the corner store,” she pointed at the familiar green sign of Oaken’s, “And there’s the pizza shop!” She pointed to the red and white sign on an inconspicuous brick wall, but the unmistakable scent of pizza drew people there from the way the doorbell jingled every minute or so. 

“Oh, wow. They’re still here.” Kristoff blinked in wonder and Anna giggled.

“Yep! Remember we used to go there all the time with our spare allowances to buy a slice of pizza and go down to the field?” 

Kristoff grinned. “Yeah. I remember you didn’t have any money so I had to share my slice. But you took the bigger part.” 

“I was hungry!” 

“I was still a growing boy.” 

Anna pouted. “You were really short back then.” She looked him up and down, struggling not to blush and act nonchalant. His warm chuckle made her think she wasn’t too successful. “When did you get so tall?”

Kristoff rubbed the back of his neck, ears flushing red. “I think it was the summer when I was fifteen? Or wait, sixteen? Somewhere then. I just grew super fast and before I knew it all of my pants were too short and my ankles were showing.” 

Anna burst out in laughter, covering her mouth with her hand. For some reason she could definitely picture that. 

“Do you have pictures?” she slyly asked and watched as he blushed, just a little.

“Yeah.” 

Anna squealed and jumped a little. “You have to show me!” 

“Later, alright?” He laughed, walking ahead of her and she had to jog to catch up. 

“No! I wanna see it now!” She laughed as she chased him down the street, and she knew he was jogging slowly so she could catch up from the way he didn’t even look phased from running. 

She panted a bit as she caught up, they spent quite a bit of time walking already and they were at the outer street of their neighborhood now. The brown and white of the houses passed them by as she looked at his face, and she knew the memories of his childhood were coming back to him.

“Oh, there’s Halima’s house!” 

Kristoff cringed a bit, then sheepishly grinned. “You think she remembers how we used to take her flowers?” He looked towards the colorful flowers lining the porch, treated with tender care and love. 

Anna gasped. “No! I always told her it was the squirrels eating them. Nasty buggers.” 

They both laughed as they walked a bit faster past _that_ particular house.

And finally, they arrived back at his home. Anna looked up at the two story house, so similar to hers on the outside, but now it was going to be filled with light and love again. And she would be able to go along with them, after feeling a bit lonely all these years. 

“Are Cliff and Bulda there too?” She bit her lip. The house had sat empty for so long, only having the occasional cleaner and maintenance person going in to make sure things were in good shape.

“Yeah, they’re probably already here. The movers we got should have the rest of my stuff arriving tomorrow.” 

“Oh, it’s been a while since I’ve seen them.” 

“You can come visit if you want. I’m sure they’d love to see you.” He turned to face her.

She nervously shuffled on her feet as she gazed up at him. “Really?” 

“Really. Come on, let’s go.” He unlatched the gate and went inside, Anna lightly jogging to keep up with his long strides. 

She heard chattering from the kitchen as they entered the house. The floorboards shined a warm brown, and the walls were yellow with white trim. It felt so different, and the open curtains allowed sunlight to stream in, as if they were banishing the emptiness that sat still in this house. 

The sight of it took her breath away, especially since she hadn’t seen it in so long. 

Bulda had come out into the living room, her stout figure and warm smile upon seeing Kristoff making Anna smile. It was crazy to think about, but without Bulda and Cliff adopting him, they would have never become friends.

“Kristoff’s home!” she called out happily, and she went immediately over to pinch his cheeks. 

“Gah, mom!” He tried to pull away, but the older woman was adamant, placing both of her hands on his cheeks. 

“Oh, look at you! So tall and handsome. I just knew you would be as tall as a giant!” 

Anna giggled at that, which drew the woman’s attention to her. Anna straightened up and tugged on her yellow blouse to smooth it out, feeling slightly sheepish that she interrupted such a tender moment.

“Oh, Anna is that you?” Her smile was wide and infectious.

“Yes, ma’am, it’s nice to see you again,” she said quietly as she brushed some hair behind her ear. 

“Oh dear, don’t be like that! It makes me feel so old. Call me Bulda, dear.” 

“Alright, ma’—Bulda.” 

She smiled but yelped in surprise as she also put her through the same treatment, pinching her cheeks and placing her hands on them with Anna having no choice but to comply.

“Oh, you’re so beautiful now, Anna!” Her words made her blush, especially as Kristoff was watching them with a grin. “You were always such a pretty child but now, you’re so gorgeous! Yes, you’ll do so nicely for our Kristoff.” She nodded resolutely and Anna felt like she was going to combust, Kristoff’s childhood promise flashing through her mind at record speed and nearly paralyzing her. 

“Ma, leave her alone.” Kristoff saved her as Bulda went right back to fussing over him instead. Anna was left in her place blushing hard. And trying to get her heart to stop beating so darn fast!

Their happy chattering was welcomed by all three of his siblings rushing in after hearing the commotion, and they all tackled him, laughing joyously and hugging him. He easily wrangled all three even as one of them hung from his shoulders and back. 

“Henrik! Ian! Astrid!” Bulda’s voice called for them in warning and they all sheepishly crawled off of him, mumbling apologies. 

She rolled her eyes and turned to Anna. “Now dear, it’s been so long. Do you want to catch up over dinner?” 

“Oh, really? That’d be great, I’d love to!” Anna beamed at that, she hadn’t really had a family dinner in a while. 

Her happy smile during the whole thing nearly made her face hurt, but it was something she fully welcomed. Kristoff sat next to her, and she was always conscious of how their arms brushed against each other.

And after the rambunctious dinner (that had almost evolved into a food fight, thanks to Kristoff’s younger brothers), Anna left to go back home. She did have a strict curfew at 7:00. She regretfully left after saying her goodbyes and Kristoff ran after her.

“Just wanted to walk you back,” he said.

“Thanks.”She knew there wasn’t any need since their houses were so close to each other’s, but she appreciated it anyway. He was always so thoughtful. 

They stood in front of the gate to her house, the dim lights peeking through the curtains of her windows. Anna looked at them, not really wanting to go in just yet. 

“Will I see you tomorrow?” she asked him, not meeting his eyes.

“Yeah. I’m not doing anything.” 

She grinned, then gave him a hug again. “I’m really glad you’re back, Kristoff,” she whispered.

“Me too.” 

Anna pulled away first, and unlatched the gate. “Good night!” she called out, and trotted up the path to the front door. 

His soft good night followed her and she watched him walk away through her window.

* * *

Anna nearly ran to Elsa’s door, slamming her palms on it in rapid succession so she could open it quicker. This was an emergency, after all. 

“Anna, what?” Elsa opened her door at her insistent banging, stepping aside as Anna barreled in.

“Kristoff is taller than me!” Anna said, face hot and flushed.

“What?” 

“He’s super tall now!” 

“I mean. It’s been six years. I’m sure he would be.” Elsa looked at her like she grew three heads, and she groaned. 

“I didn’t think he would,” she mumbled, and she flopped back on Elsa’s bed.

“Why not?” Elsa seemed to get out of the quizzical mood and only looked on in amusement.

“I don’t know! I guess I could only picture him as that scrawny kid next door.” 

“Oh. Yeah, he was kinda short back then,” Elsa mused nonchalantly, and Anna felt the urge to scream. “So why is that important? Do you like him?” 

“Yes. I mean, no!” Anna shouted. Then turned away as Elsa only smirked at her. “I made a promise to him when we were like, eight.” 

“What promise?” 

Anna groaned, covering her face with the pillow. “I promised him I’d marry him if he grows taller than me.” She heard Elsa’s burst of happy laughter and threw the pillow at her. “It’s not funny!” 

Elsa's laughter faded into chuckles, clutching at her stomach. “Anna, you can’t be serious? Have you seen mom? She’s so short!” 

“I thought I would get taller from dad’s side of the family?” Anna shrugged.

“Not likely.” Elsa shook her head.

“I know that now!” Anna wailed. “I just can’t stop thinking about that promise now!” 

“Oh Anna.” She shook her head. “I’m sure if you talk to him, he would understand. He was always a reasonable and nice guy, I’m sure he would just take it back.” 

“Really?” Well, should she do that instead? Her thoughts raced at a thousand miles an hour at the different possibilities that scenario could go. 

“Yeah. I know that, and I’m not even the one who talks to him on a daily basis.”

Anna sighed. “I’m seeing him tomorrow.” 

“Really?” 

“Yeah. I mean, he’s my best friend, and I missed him a lot.” 

“Well, tell him tomorrow then.” 

Anna bit her lip. Would she really? She didn’t know what to do and Elsa was right. She knew Kristoff wouldn’t be mad at her but she also didn’t know what to make of her heart beating so fast at the thought of him. 

Elsa chuckled at her distress, and Anna was put off by that, but she made her some hot chocolate to make her feel better. Anna decided to hang out with her for the rest of the night to get away from her thoughts. 

She both looked forward to and dreaded the next day.

* * *

She nervously stood on the porch of his house, smoothing out her light green sleeveless blouse and denim skirt, and fixing the matching flowery silk headband on her head. She had meticulously changed her outfit twice, not liking any she picked out or finding some reason or another to reject it. She was spending way too much time on her clothes so she finally picked one and put it on before she could think too much of it. 

The light breeze caressed her arms and hair and she breathed, in and out. She didn’t know why she was so nervous?! 

Gathering her nerves and bracing herself, she finally knocked on the front door. 

Kristoff answered it, his easy grin making her nervousness expand tenfold yet also happy at the same time. 

“Hey,” she said. “Are you free?” 

“Yeah. Just let me get my phone, then I can go.” He left for a moment and Anna walked around the porch, looking at the tall tree in their backyard. She giggled to herself as she remembered how they used to climb it. 

Kristoff came out a moment later and they walked side by side down the street. 

“So, what do you wanna do?” She walked backwards facing him, making him slow down his walking. 

“Well, I kinda had a craving for Oaken’s.” 

Her smile was so wide that she felt that it might have looked weird. “Wanna go to the field again then after getting snacks?” 

“Sure. It’s been way too long.” That she could agree with.

The streets were quiet and tranquil, the business of lunch hour not quite there. She enjoyed the sunlight on her face as she chatted with Kristoff along the way to Oaken’s. 

He was wearing jeans with a blue t-shirt. It was so simple yet she felt that it captured his personality so well, wearing such clothes. And when they walked side by side, she swore they could feel their hands brush up against each other once in a while. Just those brief touches left her breathless.

They reached Oaken’s, the corner store still fairly the same. She wandered the aisles, looking at candies and chocolates, while Kristoff grabbed several bags of chips. She reached inside her pocket for her wallet but Kristoff had already paid, leaving her to run after him as he grabbed her items and left, chuckling at her all the way.

It was walking down the sunny street, in between the two stores and slipping just past the fence that blocked the field behind, that she realized that making this trek was just a bit brighter today. She snuck a peek at Kristoff, whose eyes were forward and filled with nostalgia. 

They made their way forward to the tree they sat under so long ago, the tree still standing strong and untouched by time. 

The two people that sat there now, not so much. 

Yet Anna couldn’t help but think that they were still the same, compared to all the years ago. Even though there was an obvious difference in Kristoff. 

He handed her the pack of chocolates, and she took them with a smile. 

“You know, I can afford buying snacks now.” 

“I know. But I wanted to buy it for you,” he said resolutely. Anna couldn’t hide her grin, busying herself with the chocolate in order to focus on something else, and not his smile.

He opened the bag of chips, leaning back against the trunk of the tree. His eyes were staring far away, into the horizon where the soft waves of the river danced across the edge.

“This feels so nice.” Kristoff’s soft tone made her look at him.

“Yeah, doesn’t it?” Anna laughed, and he leaned his head to the side to look at her. 

“What’s so funny?” 

“Nothing.” Anna bit her lip. “It’s just that I was thinking that we haven’t really changed at all.” 

Kristoff opened his mouth to refute but she beat him to it. “Other than the fact that you’re now super tall.” She poked his nose while rolling her eyes. 

“Yeah. Aside from that,” he teased.

Anna went back to her chocolate, appreciating the sweetness of it. She offered some to Kristoff and they switched snacks for a bit, the salty chips contrasting the sweet chocolate. 

She asked for the chocolate back after a minute. 

Kristoff closed his eyes as he leaned back, and she took a look at him. Really took a look.

He still had the same face and the same smile, but his jaw was more pronounced and his lashes were so criminally long. His hair was shaggy and long, but not in a bad kind of way. In fact, she really liked it.

She reached over to brush a particular piece of hair that was over his eye but stopped herself. 

“Man, this brings me back.” 

“Yeah, doesn’t it?” Her voice was soft as she looked up at the clouds instead. 

“Remember you used to make flower chains?” he asked.

“They were flower crowns, thank you very much. And yes, I remember.” 

“Flower crowns, excuse me.” Kristoff chuckled. “Wanna make one?” 

“Yes!” Anna leapt up and she put her chocolate in a safe place, before she went to look for daisies and other wildflowers. Kristoff helped and handed her a whole pile, which she scrunched her nose at some of them since he accidentally crushed them.

“Sorry.” He sheepishly shrugged.

They sat there, Anna appreciating the view of the fields as she nimbly weaved together a thick chain with the long stems of the flowers, leaving the flowers outside to frame the chain. She held up her work, she had been at it for at least an hour. 

“Huh, you really did get better.” Kristoff held up his own, flimsy flower crown.

“Yeah, I told you so.” She stuck out her tongue. “I practiced while you were off playing rugby.”

They were silent for a few moments before Anna took off her silk headband and put the newly made crown on. 

“Hey, Anna?” Kristoff asked quietly.

“Hmm?” 

“Remember our promise?” He chuckled.

Anna tensed, and then furiously blushed, Elsa’s words of advice rushing through her mind and she felt a burst of nervousness take over her body. “Yes,” she mumbled, looking at him through her lashes and biting her lip.

“Do you—god.” He struggled to find the words and Anna waited patiently. She didn’t really know what to say either. “Do you still want to keep it?” 

Anna sat there contemplating. It would be a lie if the thought didn’t make her super extra nervous. 

She was seventeen, should she really be thinking about marriage so soon? Even if it was one of her lifelong dreams? She shifted in place, sure that the nervousness was pouring off of her in waves. 

Kristoff seemed to take note of this and sat up, face to face with her. “Anna, you don’t have to think about it. I mean, we were kids, right? There’s no need to keep it since we were just joking around.” 

Anna bit her lip. “It does make me a bit nervous,” she said slowly.

Kristoff cursed. “I never wanted to make you feel that way, Anna.” 

“Oh, Kristoff. I know you wouldn’t.” She smiled at him and he seemed to relax, the tension leaving from his shoulders. “I just feel a bit scared thinking about the future, you know?” Anna looked up at the sky, wanting to stop it forever. Not wanting to face the future.

“I get that.” She turned to Kristoff, her best friend through the years, and saw him smiling at her. “It’s official then. I hereby revoke the proposal.” He thumped a hand over his heart. 

Anna giggled at his overly done pompous tone, the tension leaving her body. 

She gazed at him, and wondered what she would even do without him in her life. He was such a lifeline for her, and even through the years that Elsa had slowly opened back up to her, he was still always there too. 

“Wanna race to the creek?” He grinned at her, and she scoffed.

“There’s no way I’d win, I’m in sandals!” 

“I’ll take off my shoes, to be fair.” 

She rolled her eyes. “No.” 

“Too bad.” He started to take off his shoes and she took her chance to run first, laughing as he stumbled taking off his other shoe. 

He still beat her anyway. 

They walked home as the sun was setting, casting the houses in a scarlet hue. They stood by each other at the white fence, Anna shuffling her feet as she clutched at her skirt. 

“Thanks for hanging out today, Kristoff.” 

“Anytime.” He grinned at her. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” she asked earnestly, and he laughed a bit.

“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

Anna couldn’t hide her smile at that and she unlocked the fence gate, and went inside.

* * *

The next week flew by as Kristoff and Anna hung out nearly everyday. Anna woke up in the morning, rushed through eating breakfast and coffee, and then got ready to go to Kristoff. She never really noticed it, as time had healed the loneliness that she felt in her childhood, but the thing that was really missing from her life was Kristoff. 

She was so grateful that he was back. 

The emails and calls were nice, and had served as a sort of lifeline throughout the years, as she knew that there was someone out there who cared about her. But there was something else about Kristoff being here in person that really made it more meaningful. 

She didn’t know what to make of that.

Elsa had smirked at her every time she left the house, the now college student shaking her head at her enthusiasm at seeing him. Anna just ignored her as she finally left the house, Kristoff standing on the sidewalk waiting for her.

“Hi! What do you wanna do today?”

He smiled at her and she felt her cheeks heat up. His smile really did look nice. 

“Not sure. Wanna go check out what the movie theaters are playing?” 

“Okay! I heard that there’s a new action movie out, I just hope it’s not too gorey.” She winced.

“Well, there _is_ that new horror movie…” he smirked and nudged her shoulder.

“No! Absolutely not!” 

He knew she hated horror movies, and she huffed at him for even suggesting it. His laughter followed her as she walked faster.

The movie theater was dark and only halfway filled, Kristoff leaning back into the leather seat and occasionally drinking from his soda bottle. She snuck glances at him more than she would have liked, noting when he laughed at the comedic parts, or watched attentively during the fighting sequences. 

Even in the dark she could clearly make out the shape of his jaw and eyes that crinkled when he chuckled.

She nearly leapt out of her seat when his arm brushed up against hers, and she hoped the dark would hide her furiously red cheeks. She spotted his hand laying on the armrest and she wondered at how she could try and hold it.

All too soon, she was surprised when the movie ended, the ending credits playing and the lights turning back on. 

“Man, that was a good movie,” Kristoff said, stretching his arms out.

“Yeah, definitely.” 

“I loved the part where he finds out that his father is the villain. It was so heartbreaking.” 

“Really?” Crap, she must have missed that.

“Yeah, were you not paying attention?” He looked at her quizzically and she sheepishly looked away.

“I guess not?”

‘Oh, come on Anna!” Kristoff laughed. 

“I was distracted!” Anna huffed, feeling her cheeks flush, as they seem to always do around him.

“By what?”

Now Anna could _not_ answer that. So she walked away instead.

“Nothing!” She laughed and Kristoff looked at her, blinking.

“Alright, alright. You’re so weird.” He dropped it and Anna was so grateful for that. 

They continued to walk in companionable silence, Anna holding her hands linked behind her while Kristoff put his in his pockets. They walked down the familiar path to their neighboring homes and they stood around, neither one really wanting to leave. 

“Well, I gotta go now. My parents want me to help out with something in the yard so I’ll be busy for the rest of the day.”

“Oh. I see.” Anna deflated at that. Maybe she would hang out with Elsa, if she wasn’t busy. Or maybe she would catch up on reading her current novel, she hadn’t read in some time.

“But I’ll be free tomorrow.” 

“Really?” Anna perked up at that. 

“Yeah. Definitely.” He grinned and Anna couldn’t help it. She wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow then!” 

She looked up at him while he hugged her back, and she didn’t know what came over her, maybe it was his sweet smile and really warm brown eyes, or maybe it was the feeling of being safe in his arms… but she reached up, eyes closed, and placed a kiss on his cheek. 

And then promptly let go of him and in record time, ran into her house.

Though she noted with some satisfaction that he was still standing out on the sidewalk, hand to his cheek and smiling, when she peeked out of the window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I thought it was only going to be 2 chapters but I just had so many other ideas and wanted to flesh out their relationship more that it just grew into its own sort of monster. 
> 
> Thank you so much for the warm comments and kudos from the first chapter! It seriously warmed my heart, y'all.
> 
> I hope you like this chapter! Writing through different POV's is hard but I actually really enjoyed writing this through Anna's perspective. Let me know what you think! Any comments and kudos are so appreciated. 🥰
> 
> Find me on [tumblr](https://eternaliax3.tumblr.com/)!


	3. Kristoff

Kristoff was laying in bed, the morning sunlight shining on his face through his window. He couldn’t help but smile at the thought of Anna kissing him (okay, it was on the cheek), and he couldn’t get it out of his head. 

Yes, he realized that holding onto a promise when they were eight, and also somewhat made in jest, was a bit silly. Though he held the memory close to his heart, he knew he did the right thing. The nervousness he saw in Anna whenever he mentioned it nearly broke his heart and he meant what he said—he never meant to make her uncomfortable. Even though they had joked about it through their emails and phone calls over the years, he knew it felt all too real for her once he came back and she saw how tall he _really_ grew to be.

He finally got up, wondering at how Anna would react to seeing him today after she had pulled that stunt last night. Would she be nervous? Excited? Or would she pretend that nothing happened? God, he hoped that it wouldn’t be the case. 

He slowly got ready, noting that he would be busy over the next few days. He had asked his dad to teach him how to drive so he could get his license. It would cut into his time with Anna, but it would be worth it. They could take a trip to the beach, or over to the other towns nearby. He could even go and visit Sven, who lived in said other town. 

He wanted Anna to meet Sven so badly. They were both so important to him and he wanted them to know each other, after all the years of having them only know each other through what he said to them.

He’d have to message Sven about that, hopefully he’d be up to visiting. He rolled his eyes at that, of course he would be up to it. Sven had mentioned it everyday leading up to his return that he would _definitely_ meet her. In his words, Sven wanted to “finally meet his future wife that had him waking up at ungodly hours to answer her calls.”

He still couldn’t get over the fact that they were technically just friends.

Or maybe they could be more? He really wanted to, and he would be lying to himself if he said that he didn’t. 

He flashed back to Anna’s soft lips against his cheek and he dopily smiled. He must have looked so stupid but he couldn’t help it. 

He went downstairs, Cliff intercepting him with a toss of the car keys and asked in a gruff voice, “You ready to go?” 

“Yeah. Let’s go.” 

Kristoff had already gotten his permit and not gonna lie, picked up driving really easily under his dad’s guidance. He was giddy with the fact that he could be soon driving and visiting others. 

When they got back, Anna was waiting for him on the steps. He ignored Cliff’s smirk at him and went right up to her. She was smiling shyly, and he took that as a good sign. The fact that she was even willing to see him again proved that she wasn’t afraid of what she had done yesterday.

“Hi,” he said, his voice breathless.

“Hey to you too.” Anna’s grin was infectious and she twirled her hair around her finger. Her hair was as always, glorious under the sun, the soft waves shining a fiery orange and her eyes glittered. It was somewhat done up today, in a neat braid that winded halfway through her hair.

They were interrupted by a gruff “Mornin, Anna.” 

Anna looked around Kristoff and smiled brightly. “Good morning, Mr. Bjorgman!” 

“How many times do we have to tell ya, call me Cliff.” The older man chuckled.

Anna flushed. “Right. Sorry, Cliff.” She glanced over at the car. “Were you teaching Kristoff how to drive?” 

“Yep. Boy’s pretty darn good at it too.” Kristoff flushed, he always felt a bit bashful at people complimenting him.

“I’m not that great, really.”

Anna smiled at him. “I’m sure that’s not true! You’re really level-headed and you react really well. Those are signs of a good driver.” 

Kristoff rubbed the back of his neck, it felt like his cheeks were on fire. If getting compliments was difficult for him, getting them from _Anna_ was extremely difficult and had twenty times the worth. 

“Thanks.” 

He could literally feel his dad’s smirk behind him. He didn’t even need to look back.

“Hey, wanna go down to Main Street to get some lunch?” He changed the subject.

“Yeah! Let’s go! We can even get our own slices now, and not have to share.” She giggled as she skipped on ahead.

She was wearing denim shorts and a silk chiffon blouse, the ruffles swaying gently in the wind. He tore his eyes away from her slender legs and concentrated on chatting with her, content with listening to her voice. 

They entered the small pizzeria, waiting in line for a few minutes as the place was always popular, and took their slices to go, Anna carrying the drinks in a bag. He didn’t even ask her if she wanted to go to the field, he knew that they both wanted to. 

They settled into their own spots, Kristoff on the right side of the tree and Anna to the left, and dug in. 

“Oh man, I missed this so much,” he said, mouth full. He was glad that he got three slices for himself. It felt even better as he heard Anna’s soft laugh, wrapping around him like the summer breeze around them.

Just then, he remembered her kiss. And he was dying to know where they stood now. 

How would he even approach this conversation?

“Anna—”

“Kristoff, I—” They both started at the same time, Kristoff flushing. 

“You first,” he said.

Anna fidgeted in place for a while, tugging on parts of a napkin in her lap. He waited patiently, not wanting to pressure her. “I uh—wanted to clear up something.” 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I wanted to ask you,” she looked at him, her gaze piercing. “I wanted to know how you feel about me.”

How could he even begin? “Anna, you’re one of the most important people in my life.”

“Is that all?” She bit her lip.

He blinked at her. “What?” 

More fidgeting. Until she looked up, cheeks blushing a furious shade of red and making her freckles stand out more. “I like you, Kristoff.” She looked away as if admitting it was embarrassing. But Kristoff felt like jumping and pumping his fist as joy rushed through his entire body. It was as if he had won a rugby game, hearing the cheers around him.

He placed his hand over hers, making her look at him.

He smiled at her. “I like you too. More than you know.” That was the absolute truth.

Anna’s eyes lit up and she lept forward in a hug, her arms wrapping around his shoulders and almost sending them tumbling to the grass. Her light giggles tickled his neck and he wrapped his arms around her waist, content to have her in his arms. 

They laid there for what felt like forever, yet it was only an hour. They had to go back sometime, and that time came much too soon for Kristoff’s liking. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Anna’s eyes glittered underneath the street lights and he couldn’t look away. 

“Definitely.” 

Her smile was blinding and she reached up to kiss him on his cheek, both of them blushing when she pulled away. He watched her go, and waited impatiently for the next day. 

But first, he had to make a phone call.

* * *

Anna literally jumped into his arms as she saw him every morning. They spent the last few days together as much as they could, trying to prolong their time together as much as possible before she had to go back before dinner time. 

Today, the light yellow sundress she donned fluttered in the wind. Her shoulders were mostly bare and the sight of her cute freckles dotting along them made him smile. 

She was sitting next to him, cuddling into his side with his arm around her slim shoulders as he showed her pictures on his phone.

“Wow!” she laughed joyously, head thrown back. “You weren’t kidding! Your pants really were short after you grew!” 

It was a particularly damning picture, with his ankles awkwardly on show, and not from some fashion statement either. It was even before he had bulked up with muscle so he was awkwardly standing like a tall twig. He chuckled along with her, her giggles fading away. 

“And this one is my first rugby win.” He flipped to a picture of his teammates dressed in dark green and white pants, all in a line and streaked with mud. The one in the center holding the trophy wasn’t him, but they all looked equally happy regardless.

“You guys look so proud.” 

“Yeah, it was a hard match.” 

“That’s Sven, isn’t it?” She pointed to the guy that literally was throwing himself onto Kristoff in the next picture, his mouth stuck open with a vicious roar that the camera captured. 

He had to laugh as the memories flooded him. “Yeah, that’s him.” 

Anna hummed. “You know, I’m really glad that he was there for you all those years.” 

“Same. We’re also going to the same college.” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. They didn’t talk about it much since he came back for the summer, but he needed her to know. 

This wasn’t just some summer fling for him. Never.

“Oh. Really?” He could literally feel her disappointment as she bit her lip, not meeting his eyes.

“Yeah. But we chose somewhere close to here.” Her eyes lit up, lips parting as she waited for him to say more. He grinned. “We’re going to Arendelle U.”

“That’s only an hour and a half away!” 

“Yeah. I can come visit. I won’t be far.”

He looked down at her smiling face, and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. The blush that erupted made him grin even wider. 

And then he leaned down, Anna’s lips parting in surprise before he placed the lightest of kisses there. He didn’t know why he did it, but he was overwhelmed with emotion. At her, and at the fact that she was here with him and so happy to be thinking about their future together past this summer.

He pulled back, gauging her reaction. He grew worried when she didn’t react.

“Anna? Shit, did I make you uncomfortable? I’m so sorry I won’t—”

He was cut off from her reaching up to cup his jaw with both of her hands, pulling his face down to kiss her again. It was utter bliss as she kissed him insistently, and when they parted, panting and staring into each other’s eyes, she grinned.

“I’ve been waiting to do that for forever,” Anna whispered, biting her lip.

Kristoff laughed in relief. “Oh god, yeah. Same.” 

“Can we do it again?” Anna’s eyes gleamed and he didn’t answer her as he lowered his head again.

* * *

Kristoff drove up to her house, okay it was literally right next to his, but he couldn’t resist, and parked as he waited for her to come out.

And when she did, he smiled as she squealed in delight at seeing him in the car. Cliff was kind enough to lend him his car for now until he got his own, which he honestly didn’t know when that would be, but he wouldn’t worry about that for now. Not when Anna was next to him, bright and glowing, with that adorable smile on her face. 

“Wow! This is amazing!” 

Kristoff laughed. “You’ve seen it before.” 

“Yeah, but not with _you_ driving it.” 

His cheeks grew hot as he focused on shifting gears and driving down the street. 

“So, where do you wanna go?” 

“Oh, I don’t know! There’s so many options now.” She giggled. 

“Well, if you don’t have anywhere to go, I can take you to a place I’ve heard about.” 

“Go ahead.” She settled back in her seat, the slightly open window making her hair flutter. If he didn’t have to pay attention to the road, he would have spent his time admiring her. 

The lonely road stretched on, with Anna happily chatting away next to him as he made his way to somewhere where he had a surprise for her. Well, he was really looking forward to it too.

“So where are we going?”

Kristoff grinned, with the promise of a secret. “Not telling.”

“Oh come on! Gimme a hint, please?”

Kristoff shook his head while he caught the sight of Anna pouting from the corner of his eye. “It’s a surprise. I think you’ll like it.”

“Aww, you can’t just say something like that and expect me to sit still!”

“I expect exactly that.”

“Ugh!” She threw up her hands in exasperation and flopped back against her seat, the seat belt holding her back. Though thankfully, she refrained from asking some more, only commenting on sights that she saw along the way. It was amazing how even the most mundane things were interesting to her, and he seemed to view things in a new light every time she exclaimed at the sight of a cute farm animal. 

After a while, he took a turn off of the highway onto a quieter road, into a shady area with trees lining the sides. He turned into a dirt path, chuckling as he could tell that Anna was at her wit’s end. It was so cute.

She hopped out of the car as soon as he parked, surveying her surroundings. 

“Wow, I haven’t been here in so long!”

“Same here,” he said. He had taken her to the Arendelle National Park. 

He got out after her, and pulled out a few bags from the trunk of the car. Anna’s eyes lit up with curiosity. She opened her mouth to say something but he beat her to it. “Nope, still not telling. You’ll just have to wait.”

She rolled her eyes, but let it go. “Fine.” She looked around again, both of them making their way down the trail. 

She laced her fingers through his and he felt a shock go through his arm. But he held her hand tightly, not letting on that she affected him so much. 

“Yeah, they added a new viewpoint area recently. I thought we could go check it out.” 

“And then we can eat?” She eyed the bags of food in his other hand. 

“Something like that.” He scrunched his nose at her when she stuck her tongue out at him in frustration for not telling her what was up already. But he was so excited, and when she saw what awaited her, it would be all worth it. 

They enjoyed the scenery, listening to the chirps of the birds and feeling the crisp breeze, and he particularly enjoyed hearing Anna’s giggles ring through the air. And then finally, he felt himself smiling as he neared where he wanted to be, when he heard a loud shout from afar. 

Anna shrieked a bit when she heard it, and also because a tall guy with a mop of brown hair decided to tackle him from behind. He just had to laugh, that was his best friend alright. 

“Sven!” he shouted out. 

“What’s up?” He gave his head a noogie and Kristoff groaned, finally moving to get him off of his back. 

“Kristoff, I’ve missed you! I was worried, you didn’t call or anything the past few days.” He mimed fake crying and Kristoff rolled his eyes.

“Don’t worry, man. I still love you.” He glanced at him questioningly. “Didn’t I call you about visiting a few days ago?” 

“A few days ago. _Days._ My heart nearly broke into two.” 

They both laughed, and Kristoff fought the dopey grin at having two of his favorite people near him. He felt Anna go back up to his side and place her arm in his, her eyes glittering with curiosity and excitement. 

“Sven?” she asked.

Sven gave her a wide smile and Kristoff gripped her hand tighter. “Yup, that’s me. Kristoff’s best guy friend.” He pointed to himself triumphantly. “And you must be Anna.” 

She nodded fervently, her body nearly jittering with excitement. Kristoff knew how she had wanted to meet Sven for so long, and now here it was. “I’m so happy to finally meet you! Kristoff has said so much about you.” She clapped her hands together. 

“Same here! You know how many times I’ve woken up to hear him talking to you on the phone?” 

Anna blushed a deep red at that and snuck a glance to Kristoff, who shrugged with a sheepish smile. “I’m sorry about that.”

“Nah, it’s for true love after all. I _love _love.”__

__They walked over to the rest area where there was already a table taken up by Sven’s belongings. Kristoff set the bags of food onto the table and Sven immediately opened them up and dug right in, Anna laughing at his enthusiasm._ _

__Kristoff caught up with Sven, asking how his parents were and if everything was alright in his town, to which Sven gave him the most ridiculous puppy dog eyes and exclaimed, “Oh Kristoff, I had no idea how much you cared!”_ _

__He promptly shut up while Anna and Sven laughed, but it was all alright as Anna snuggled up into his side._ _

__He noticed that Sven had a gleeful look in his eyes at seeing them together. And then with a smirk, he popped a french fry into his mouth and asked coyly, “So, you lovebirds are finally together, huh?”_ _

__Anna giggled and he looked down at her face, their eyes meeting. “Yeah. We’re going out now.” He couldn’t even imagine how happy he was at saying that._ _

__“Finally! You know how often he talked about you, Anna?”_ _

__“Really? How much?” she asked, eyes wide. Kristoff only groaned._ _

__“Yeah! He would literally wake up in the mornings, turn on his computer and write to you. And then he would wake me up, but then I would already be somewhat awake because of all the _clacking_ and his _typing,_ he spent forever typing out a reply you know?” _ _

__Kristoff placed his face in his hands, embarrassment flooding through him. It was true that he had spent a lot of time writing out responses to her, he wanted every sentence and line to be good enough._ _

__“Oh wow,” Anna said with a slight laugh. Her hands squeezed his own and when he looked at her, her eyes were literally shining with adoration at him. “No, I never knew.”_ _

__“Oh man, there’s more.” Sven was all too happy and gleeful at making him embarrassed, it seemed._ _

__“Yeah there was this one time when I tried showing him a Playboy magazine—”_ _

__“Wait! Don’t tell her that one!” He knew exactly where this one was going._ _

__“Wait, why? What happened?” Anna leaned forward to Sven._ _

__Sven nearly cackled. “He said he wasn’t even interested! I was like, why not? It wasn’t until I finally showed him a picture of a redhead that he finally looked at it.”_ _

__Kristoff was mortified. Maybe this was a terrible idea to have them meet. Sven was such a goof, bringing up that particular memory. And definitely because that redhead reminded him of Anna that he showed _some_ interest in those stupid magazines. _ _

__He couldn’t even look at her, but he heard her delighted laughter from next to him anyway, and then her arms were wrapping around his chest and he felt her hair tickling his neck._ _

__“Seriously, now that’s loyalty.” Sven winked at her._ _

__“Stop, please.” Kristoff groaned, but gave a small grin through his red cheeks. Seeing Anna so happy made him feel better anyway._ _

__The rest of the afternoon flew by with Anna and Sven chatting and getting to know each other, and finally seeing how they both fit into his life. He really appreciated how Sven took the time out to see him, he knew his friend was working over the summer before their first semester of college started._ _

__But when he reached out to Sven, he didn’t even hesitate to meet up._ _

__He didn’t realize how much he missed his presence. Not that he would tell him outright, of course. He doesn’t need that to fuel his ego._ _

__After a while Anna frowned and checked the time on her phone. Kristoff nudged her a bit, worried about her. “Is it close to your curfew?”_ _

__She nodded sadly while Sven only looked on in sympathy. Kristoff had already told him about her strict parents a while back._ _

__“It’s okay. Let’s go back.”_ _

__She sighed. “I really don’t want to, I was having a lot of fun.”_ _

__Sven chuckled, leaning back. “It’s okay, I’m always down to drive to Arendelle whenever I’m free.” He winked at them._ _

__“I’d really like that. It was really nice to hear about your time together at school.” Her eyes were wistful and he squeezed her hand. He knew exactly what she was thinking. About her regret that they were apart for so long. But it was alright, and they were together now._ _

__Sven had watched them, then dramatically sighed. “Okay, lovebirds. I’m gonna leave you alone now. Behave, please.”_ _

__Kristoff flushed, yet again. He didn’t even want to think about what _that _insinuated and make Anna uncomfortable. “Drive safely, Sven. I’ll see you later.”___ _

____“You better! I know you miss this beautiful face.”_ _ _ _

____Anna waved as Sven gave him a one armed hug. Then he turned to her and gave her a hug too, Anna’s surprised yelp making both of them laugh._ _ _ _

____“Don’t be a stranger, Anna!” He started walking away to where his car was parked, and they were left alone._ _ _ _

____They were left with a calm and stunning sunset, the rays shining over the tops of the trees and still lake. He wrapped an arm around her waist, and stood with her. Cheesy at it might be, he really thought that Anna was more beautiful than the view in front of him._ _ _ _

____He knew she had to go back home. Especially since the threat of her father loomed large in his mind._ _ _ _

____But he just wanted to prolong whatever time he had with her._ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit late, but I think I'm finally satisfied with this. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and thank you so much for the absolutely generous feedback so far! You guys make me so happy. 🥰
> 
> More fluff and stuff to come! I'm not done yet! 
> 
> Find me on [tumblr](https://eternaliax3.tumblr.com/)!


	4. Anna

Anna was on cloud nine. 

And she had been for the past week. Kristoff was an utter dream come true as he took her out to places. He was just so caring and generous, and didn’t mind when she rambled on about something he probably didn’t care about. Or maybe he did care about it, but simply because she was interested in it. 

She had contemplated just sneaking out and staying later with him each time they were together, never mind how angry her father would be if she was caught, but she just really hated leaving him. Even if he was just next door and they still texted each other at night, late into early morning sometimes. 

Sometimes they fell asleep on the phone, Anna listening to the calm deep breaths of Kristoff falling asleep. It was soothing somehow, like listening to his steady heartbeat as she hugged him or laid on top of him on a picnic basket at _their spot._

Yes, she had dubbed it their spot, ever since they had started going there since they were kids. And it was her favorite spot. Or one of them at least.

Sometimes if they had time, he took her to the Arendelle park, where they had last met Sven. It quickly became one of her favorite places to go to, although anywhere she went to Kristoff was enjoyable. 

Even now, as she got ready to leave to see him again, the butterflies still fluttered and she felt the giddiness erupt at the thought of him. She brushed her hair from the wrangled mess of waking up in the morning, finally opting to leave it loose and flowy.

She went downstairs to grab a quick bite before going, noticing that her father was sitting at the dining table in front of an array of foods reading the newspaper. Huh, that was weird. Usually he was in his home office or at work by the time she had gotten up.

“Good morning, dad,” she said cheerily, grabbing a grape from a bowl and popping it into her mouth.

“Good morning.” His stare kind of unnerved her, but she tried to carry on as normal. She scooped some scrambled eggs and grabbed a piece of toast, spreading some butter on it before munching heartily into it. 

She was about to go scrolling on her phone while she ate, maybe text Kristoff, when he spoke. 

“So, Anna. How is your exam prep going?” His voice was loud and clear, despite the level tone.

“I think it’s going well.” 

Crap. To be honest, she hadn’t really paid attention to any test prep lately, and she knew it would be coming up in the fall. 

She nearly wilted underneath her father’s stare before he relented. “I see. That’s good.” He flipped a page of the newspaper nonchalantly while her heart nearly beat out of her chest. “If your scores are high enough you can go to University of Corona. That’s where your mother and I graduated.” 

“But U-Corona is four hours away!” she protested. 

He stared coolly at her and she bit her lip, feeling an unspoken threat within his stiff posture and stern gaze. She didn’t want to tell him that she was thinking about going to the University of Arendelle, or somewhere else that was close by. 

He continued talking, Anna staring disbelievingly at him. “Think about it, Anna. You know cost is of no matter to us.”

“I know,” she said quietly. She pushed her plate away, no longer having an appetite. She got up to leave and go see Kristoff, when he spoke again.

“Are you off to see the young man next door?” 

She froze. It’s not like she could really hide it, they lived right next to each other anyway, so he was bound to see them together pretty often.

“Yes.” 

His eyes narrowed and she fought the urge to fidget. “You’ve been spending a lot of time with him.” 

“He just came back for the summer, dad. I haven’t seen him in so long.” 

He was silent for a minute before giving the tiniest nod. “As long as you don’t lose focus on your exam prep.” 

She sighed in relief. “Yes, dad.” 

She turned and walked away before he could say anything else, before nearly bounding out of the front door and to Kristoff’s house. All she wanted to do was seek comfort in his arms, and she bounced on the balls of her feet as she waited for him to answer the door. 

When he finally did, she jumped up and gave him a hug, surprising him. 

“Whoa! It’s good to see you too, Anna.” 

She hummed into his neck, already feeling better as he lifted her up effortlessly. She giggled as he twirled her around before setting her back onto her feet. She pulled away from him, smiling as she stared into his eyes. They were always so warm and she marveled at the fact that she was finally able to stare into them as much as she could in person, and not in pictures. 

She was just so happy to be near him, the nervousness from her unexpected talk with her father melting away. 

Everything felt like it was going to be okay when she was with him. 

“How are you?” she asked, Kristoff lowering her to the ground. His arms were still around her. 

“Good. Especially now that you’re here.” His grin made her melt and she happily smiled at him while they walked over to his car. 

The sky was especially bright today, the summer sun and clouds winking at her while they lounged underneath their tree, laughing while watching a movie on Anna’s phone. 

Forget the movie theater, this was way better in Anna’s opinion. They got to lay side by side on their picnic blanket that Kristoff kept in his car at all times, and she got to feel his breath on her hair. 

The sun was setting by the time they knew it, and Anna was saddened by the fact yet again. She wondered if there would be a day where they would live together, and they didn’t have to do this. 

The thought made her blush. 

Kristoff gave her a sweet kiss and she hopped out of the car in a rush and dashed over to her house. She knew she had cut it close this time, the sky already darkening. 

“Anna.” 

She nearly jumped to the ceiling at the unexpected voice. She turned to see the angry scowl of her father standing by the front door.

“You’re late. It’s past your curfew already.” 

“It’s only five minutes!” Anna protested.

“You’re still late!” 

His voice resounded off the walls and she flinched away, not able to meet his eyes. She knew she had pushed curfew later and later, purposefully not reminding Kristoff that she had one, even though it was always on the back of her mind. She knew that he would take her back quickly and promptly everyday if she told him the specific time she had to be back home.

“I’m sorry, dad,” she mumbled. 

“It looks like I’ll have to change your curfew.” 

“What?” 

“You now have to be home by 6:00 sharp.” 

“That’s a whole hour earlier! It doesn’t even get dark by then!” She couldn’t believe it, it was so unfair.

“You have to learn how to discipline yourself, Anna! And not gallivanting around with some boy!”

“He’s not some boy!” She bit her tongue from saying that he was her boyfriend. Who knows how her father would react with how angry he was right now.

“He’s been distracting you for almost the whole summer! You have entrance exams coming up in the fall!” 

“I know that! But I can’t be studying all the time! I need to have fun too!” 

“And then you’ll fail your entrance exams!”

“I won’t!” She shook her head. How come they were so adamant that she wouldn’t pass them? 

He sighed, his brows still furrowed in anger. “This discussion is going nowhere. Go to your room.” The finality of his tone cut through her already defeated spirit. 

The tears had risen in her eyes and they threatened to spill over as she watched his eyes harden into angry acid that she nearly felt in her veins. She turned to go into her room, slamming the door and ran to the comfort of her bed. Away from all the prying eyes. 

A tentative knock came through her door. 

“Anna?” It was her mom. 

“No. Go away.” She burrowed her face into her pillow. 

The door opened anyway and she felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. 

“Oh sweetheart, your father just wants what’s best for you.”

“What’s best for me is to not be locked up like how Elsa was!”

She finally looked at Iduna, her mom having a soft smile on her face while she sniffled and had tears running down her face.

“We know. You’re too much of a free spirit for that.” She chuckled. 

“Then why is he so strict? Why does he want me to go to U-Corona? I just want to stay in Arendelle.” 

At least with her mom, she could be honest. Talking with her dad was sometimes like talking to a wall. 

“He wants you to experience what he did there.” 

“And what if I don’t want that? Besides, he only wants me to go there because all of his rich friends’ children do. He only wants to brag about how one of his kids goes to an Ivy League school.” 

It went silent, and Anna turned away from her. It seems like she was right on the target. 

“I’ll speak to your father. In the meantime, just try and focus on your exam prep. I know you really like Kristoff, but try to meet the curfew.” 

“Even if it’s totally unreasonable?” She glared at her mom, who only smiled and cupped her cheek with a hand.

“I’ll talk to him. We can reach a compromise. Maybe you get a later curfew but have one full day a week to stay home and study. Kristoff can’t be free everyday.” 

Anna huffed. But she was right. Nearly every day was spent with him so far in the summer, and she _hadn’t_ been studying. 

And maybe Kristoff needed a break from her too. 

That thought particularly hurt. 

“And about college?” She prodded.

Iduna shook her head. “I’ll talk to him about that too.” 

“Okay.” It was the best she was going to get. 

Her mom left after saying goodnight, and that she loved her. Anna said it back, but her spirits were still down. 

Begrudgingly, she turned to her books on her desk and opened them. But she wasn’t able to read a single word, her thoughts too jumbled and fighting with each other to be at the forefront of her mind. 

She instinctively reached for her phone, wanting to text Kristoff. Would he be busy at this time? Maybe he was going to sleep already? 

She couldn’t help it though, and sent a quick text. 

_U there?_

A minute later, he responded. 

_yeah_

But she didn’t know what to say. She wanted to tell him about what happened, about her fear of the future, about everything changing too fast and how she wanted to hold onto it as hard as she could. But would she burden him with that? 

Another text came through when she didn’t respond. 

Anna?

She put her phone down and rested her head on her arms. Then she heard a soft plunk on her window. 

She blinked and slowly moved towards it when it happened again. And she saw him outside. 

He stood there with a sheepish grin when she slid her window open. 

“Kristoff? What are you doing?” She softly said. 

“You didn’t answer my text. I thought that something might be wrong.” 

Her heart melted and she struggled to keep the smile off of her face. 

“Nothing is wrong.” She shook her head.

Kristoff frowned. “Okay, now I know there’s something wrong.” 

“Really. It’s nothing.” She had no right to make him worry like this. But to her surprise, he only started to climb up the tree next to the wall of the house.

“What are you doing?” She hissed.

“I’m seeing if you’re really alright.” He was face to face with her now, and there was no lying to him when he could clearly see that her nose was red and her eyes were blotchy.

“Kristoff.” She shook her head and hugged him. She finally admitted, “My dad got mad at me for coming home late.” 

“What? I thought the curfew was at 8-ish? You’ve gotten home earlier than that.” 

“It’s actually at 7.” 

“Oh.” He frowned. 

“I know. I’m sorry, I just—I wanted to spend more time with you.” 

“I do too. But Anna, if you get in trouble, then I might not see you at all.” 

He was right. 

She huffed, not wanting to meet his gaze. 

“I know. I might have a stricter curfew now.” 

He groaned softly and she chuckled. “We can work with that though.” 

“How?” She asked.

“You want to get up earlier to hang out?” She scrunched her nose and he laughed. She already got up earlier than she would have compared to past summers. “I guess not.” 

They stayed silent for a few moments, neither having much to say but being comforted in each other’s presence anyway. 

“My mom is talking to him. I might be able to get away with a later curfew but I’ll have to study more.” 

“That seems fair.” 

“I might have to stay home and study all day for one to two days a week.” With her dad, he might make it three days a week that she would be studying. Who knows. “I hate studying.”

He shook his head. “He’s not wrong, you know. Yeah, he’s going about it the wrong way but those entrance exams are pretty hard.” 

“I know. I just—I’m not like Elsa. I can’t sit still and study for so long and not go crazy from boredom.” She sighed.

Kristoff frowned. “I can help you study, if you want.”

“Really?” 

“Yeah, just bring your books with you and I’ll help with whatever I can.” 

She beamed. Having someone else to study with would make her feel better. And since he already took the exams, he could give her tips.

“Yes!” She giggled. Then she slightly nudged him away as she realized what he was doing at the current moment. “You should go. If my dad finds you here, then he’ll really lock me away.” 

“Alright.” He caressed her cheek and leaned in to give her a kiss, the butterflies in her stomach coming alive again as he brushed his lips against hers. “Goodnight.” 

“Goodnight,” she said breathlessly. 

He deftly climbed down the tree and she watched him go back to his house. Then she opened her books again and started to read.

* * *

Her mom had told her the news the next morning when she came downstairs. They were sitting next to each other and had sat her down for a meeting. At least, that’s what it felt like. They agreed on having a later curfew but it meant that Anna had to really stay home for a few days and work with a tutor if needed. 

She bit her tongue at the fact that they felt like they needed to get someone to watch over her and babysit her, but if it was really a tutor, maybe they’d help her focus. 

She agreed to those terms. 

The next few weeks went by in a blur of the most boring studying and trying to be happy for Kristoff as the date for his first semester loomed ever so closer. She felt restless, looking at pictures of them together during the summer and she felt so _clingy_ but she hated the fact that they would separate again.

Even if he was closer than last time. It just felt so harder now that she was used to having him around.

At least her dad seemed to be satisfied with how she focused on studying. Kristoff had really helped her, coming up with strategies and tips for tricky questions that typically popped up on the exams. 

They sat there together on the picnic table, for once not having anyone around and being met with the quiet sounds of nature and the light breeze. And Kristoff’s low voice as he worked out how to solve an equation. 

But her focus wasn’t on what he was saying, rather it was on his lips. 

“Anna, are you listening?” 

She snapped out of her thoughts with a flush and she grinned at him. “Maybe?” 

Kristoff chuckled. “We’ve been at it for a while now. We should probably take a break.” 

Anna sighed in relief. While she was getting used to studying for longer periods of time, it didn’t mean that she enjoyed it. But she sidled up to him so that their thighs were touching underneath the wooden picnic table. “What’d you have in mind for this break?” she asked suggestively. 

Kristoff’s brow rose and she bit her lip while grinning. She knew exactly what she wanted and she slowly closed her eyes while subtly puckering her lips and leaning up towards his face. 

But was left disappointed when all she felt was air.

“Anyway, Anna,” Kristoff said, and she straightened up with a suspicious stare. “I was wondering what your plans were for the next year. You know, with me going away for college and all…” he trailed off.

Anna blinked and she felt the familiar sadness again. “I mean, I’ll still have to be here right? And I’ll have to take my exams.” She gestured to the array of open books in front of them.

“Of course. I just meant in terms of dating.” 

Her eyes widened. “Yes, of course we’d still be dating! Even if you’re in college, it’s still pretty close, right? And I can visit too! Unless, you don’t want me to? Oh my gosh, do you not want to be my boyfriend anymore?” She gasped and put her hand over her mouth, trying not to be dramatic but failing. She had always worn her heart on her sleeve and she could tell that her emotions were overflowing at the moment.

“What? Of course I do!” Kristoff sputtered and grasped her hand. She calmed down, only tilting her head in question. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay with being long distance.” The soft tone of his voice and how much love there was in it made her smile softly at him. 

“Kristoff, I’d love to still be your girlfriend. And is it really long distance when it’s less than two hours away on a bad day?” She playfully rolled her eyes, wanting to assuage him of his worries even though she understood exactly how he felt.

This was all still so new, and then their relationship is being put to the test again. 

But she knew they could handle it. 

Kristoff leaned down to kiss her and she closed her eyes with a giggle, finally getting her kiss. And then she felt something being pressed into her hand. 

She looked at it, but not before catching a glimpse of Kristoff’s nervous face. 

“I saw this at the mall the other day, and I thought of you.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I know it’s not as pretty or expensive as the jewelry you probably get, but sunflowers are your favorite.” 

Anna’s heart melted and she felt tears spring up to her eyes. It wasn’t even anything extravagant, but it made her so happy nonetheless. It was a sunflower pendant, made out of silver and yellow jewels for the petals. It was fairly small but she loved the style anyway. The jewelry she had at home was bought with her birthday money and allowance, and no one had ever picked something out for her. The fact that it was Kristoff who got it for her made it all the more special. 

“Kristoff, I love it.” And she meant it with all of her being. “Here, help me put it on.” 

She turned around and placed her hair on her shoulder, feeling the thin chain fall onto her neck as Kristoff clasped the necklace. 

“How do I look?” She giggled when she turned around.

“Beautiful.” 

She blushed underneath his gaze. She never really believed it about herself sometimes, but with Kristoff she knew he was telling the truth.

“Thank you. I’ll wear it everyday.” 

Kristoff coughed. “You don’t have to do that,” he sheepishly said. And she knew he was lying and that he would like her to do just that.

“Oh, I will. I definitely will.” She bit her lip. “And...I’ll write to you. Just like old times.” 

“You know, maybe texting is easier.” He raised one brow at her and she laughed. 

“But I like the idea of writing love letters. I get to see your handwriting and I get to keep it forever. Besides, not having to delete it from my phone when my inbox gets full is nice too.” 

“Okay, okay. But I’m just more of a texting kind of guy. I’ll write back when I get your letters. I’ll even hand deliver them to you myself.” 

“Please do.” 

She sidled up to his side and he naturally wrapped his arm around his shoulders. Again, she tried not to think about the day he would leave. 

She failed.

* * *

It was finally time for him to go, and she heard the commotion from next door early in the morning. She was already awake, and got ready to see him off. She wore her favorite sundress and made sure the sunflower pendant was safely clasped on. 

And when she saw him loading up his stuff in the car when she got outside, the tears she worked so hard to hold in nearly flowed out. 

It wasn’t the same as last time, she kept repeating to herself. It’s just not the same.

But she felt the same. She felt like the eleven year old girl standing there crying as she watched the car Kristoff was in drive away. 

Kristoff saw her from his side and he smiled as he went up to her. He really is too handsome, she thought as she looked at him. He sported a light grin, even though he did look a bit tired. 

“Hi.” 

“Hi.” She didn’t know what else to say, preferring to look at her feet. “I see you’re almost ready to go.” She rocked back and forth on her heels, hands clasped behind her back.

“Yeah.” It seemed like he didn’t really know what to say either.

“I—”

“Anna—” he chuckled when they started to say something at the same time. “You first.” 

Now that the spotlight was on her, she bounced lightly on the tips of her toes because she didn’t know what to say. It was like the words were on her mind, but her mouth refused to speak. Kristoff, being ever so patient, only watched her with fondness in his eyes. 

And then she couldn’t take it anymore and sprinted towards him, jumping into his arms and hugging him tightly. 

“I’m gonna miss you.” That was all she needed to say. All she could say, honestly.

“Yeah. You have no idea how much I’m gonna miss you.” 

She pulled away, looking into his face. And she felt some tears, not all of them, fall out. “Oh gosh,” she said, wiping them away. “I didn’t want to cry and seem dramatic.” 

Kristoff cupped her cheeks. “It’s okay. I’d be worried if you didn’t cry, honestly.” 

“Are you saying that I cry a lot?” 

“I mean, no.” She chuckled at his abashed expression. “You’re just really open with your feelings. And that’s one of the things I love about you.” 

“Nice save.” She cuddled into him, hearing his heartbeat.

It’s not gonna be the same, she thought. Don’t be dramatic. 

“I gotta go though. I gotta get there before noon.” Kristoff’s sad smile made her heart break again. But she would try her best to send him off with a smile. 

“Okay. Make sure you have enough gas before you leave town, alright? And that you have some snacks and a drink on the road. Oh, and say hi to Sven for me! Make sure to text me when you get there too.” 

“I will, I will.” 

It was silent for a few moments, both of them not knowing what to say again, but not wanting to separate just yet. Then Kristoff grasped her hands in his, placing a kiss on her forehead. And then he leaned down and whispered into her ear, “I love you.” 

Anna stood stock still, but then looked at him with wide eyes. “Really?” 

“Yeah. Since I was a kid.” 

She continued to stare at him, at a loss for words but her entire was light and felt like she was about to float away. Kristoff was red and he turned away to walk over to the car, before she yelled back to him.

_“I love you too!”_

He turned around with a surprised expression and she ran over to him, giving him a long kiss. She knew he was ecstatic over it. Because she was too.

And when he finally got into his car, and when he finally drove away, Anna had a wide smile on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a bit late, but here you go! I struggled a bit with this chapter but I think I'm satisfied with it. I also started another WIP even though I already have two of them going on and I-
> 
> Lol, I hope you enjoyed reading! Thank you so much for all of the love and kudos/comments you guys have given this story so far. You have no idea how much I appreciate you guys!! 🥰🥰
> 
> Find me on [tumblr](https://eternaliax3.tumblr.com/)!


	5. Kristoff

Kristoff unpacked his things yet again, noting the nostalgia he felt at doing this same thing years later. The only thing was, he wasn’t as nervous about this new change in his life. Rather, there were so many things that were better. Sven was still his roommate, and Anna was officially and undeniably his girlfriend. And there was the fact that she loved him back. 

He was riding that high for days. 

And true to her word, she actually sent him letters, even though they texted each other nearly everyday. He ignored Sven’s rolled eyes and mock scoffs during those times. But he always made sure to send her a good morning text, even though she rarely responded till the afternoon. That changed when school started for her, as she had to get up early. He knew she hated mornings, and she hated how early school had made her get up.

It was too bad he had classes that started early in the morning, but it was alright for him as he was a morning person. 

He still had to wake Sven up though. And he did so with amusement most days. 

His classes went well, having to join study groups and sessions. All the while Sven had dragged him, sometimes literally, to parties and made him socialize. And also helping him by scaring off any interested girls by loudly proclaiming Kristoff had a girlfriend (but that he himself was single and ready to mingle). And yes, he would tell them himself, but Sven seemed especially happy to brag about it. 

But the best part was hearing Anna’s voice at the end of the day. 

It was surprising how easy they fell back into old habits, where they managed to stay in contact as much as they possibly could. And hearing her say that she missed him, and her quiet whispers of “I love you” made him want to jump in delight. She made sure to end every phone call with it, and he did too. He didn’t care if Sven could hear him. He already had his “blessing” anyway.

And the first long weekend he had came about, and he managed to surprise Anna when he wound up waiting for her in the driveway and called her. 

“Come outside,” he said. And he waited while she squealed in delight at seeing him, and launched herself into his arms. 

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back?” she asked, and he watched her freckles dance on her face and how much he had missed her. 

“I wanted to surprise you.” And he gave her a light kiss on her nose. 

They lounged about, Anna still lugging around her textbooks, while always asking if he needed to study as well. He did, for sure. But he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. He knew that their relationship was different now, in a good way. And whenever he went back to campus, he did so with a sense of excitement for the next time he would see her. 

It was tough sometimes, as there was much more responsibility and independence thrust upon him in this new setting. But he managed to get through his first exams without failing. He actually did pretty well. 

And then when Sven had surreptitiously asked him if he was busy on Friday night one random day, he said that he was, although he wasn’t interested in going to another party. If anything, he would probably go over to Ryder’s place (a new friend he had made, much to Sven’s disbelief and joy) and play some video games or something. 

But he didn’t drag him to a party, and he forgot about that entirely because Anna didn’t text him back that day. 

It was fine, he thought. Anna definitely was busy, her schoolwork ramping up as well as college applications coming up soon for her. He remembered that part of the year vividly. It didn’t really stop the worried thoughts as she didn’t text him back later that night either. 

He debated calling her, maybe sending her a text asking if she had a good day, but he stopped himself. He didn’t want to be that overprotective boyfriend and smother her with his insecurities, no matter how much he wanted to find out how she was doing. 

They had talked just yesterday, even. 

But what if her father had taken her phone away? And she couldn’t tell him in time? 

Shit. He was in the middle of typing out a text when Sven came back to the dorm. 

“Hey, man! I got a surprise for you.” 

“Can it wait a sec? I’m kinda busy at the moment,” he said with a frown.

“Nah, you definitely don’t want to wait. Come on.” Sven clapped him on the shoulder and Kristoff wanted to say something snarky, but then he saw what was behind him. Or rather, who.

Anna popped her head into the doorframe with a wide smile, and he immediately relaxed and a wide grin spread over his face. He saw the sunflower necklace dangling on her neck.

“Anna!” 

She giggled and she went into the room, lugging her tote bag with her. He stood up to give her a warm hug, smelling the soft scent of her hair and letting it wash over him. 

“How’d you get here?” he wondered.

“I took the train! Sven picked me up.” He saw Sven give a two fingered salute in the corner of his eye. “I also asked if you were busy today, and he said you weren’t, so I thought it was a good time to come and visit.” She looked up from under her long lashes. “And maybe, stay overnight?”

“Of course!” he sputtered. She wanted to stay overnight? “What about your dad? Does he know you’re here?”

“I _might_ have told him that I was staying over at my friend Samantha’s place.” 

“You have a friend named Samantha?” He was pretty sure he had never heard that name from her.

“Her name might be Gale?” She sheepishly shrugged while biting her lip and he laughed.

“Sven, you mind staying over at Ryder’s today?”

“Nope, anything for you lovebirds.” He winked and took his backpack, while leaving. “Have a good night,” he called out in the hallway with an obnoxiously loud voice, and they both blushed.

They were left alone, and Kristoff rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Anna was wearing a white romper with flowers on it, made out of a flowy silk material and it was flattering on her hips and stopped at the tops of her thighs. It was definitely an outfit that fit her. And was she wearing perfume? 

“So, did Sven sign you in?” 

“Yeah. So he’ll have to sign me out tomorrow morning, but he assured me that he wouldn’t try and leave me here.” 

“Yeah, he wouldn’t do that.” He chuckled. “I missed you. You didn’t respond to my messages and I was kinda freaking out.” 

“I’m sorry. I just knew I would blab about my plans if I heard your voice, and I really just wanted to keep this a surprise.” 

“Consider me very surprised, then.” 

Her glittering smile made him unnecessarily happy, and he shrugged. 

“So what do you want to do?” he asked.

They ended up ordering a pizza, which they enjoyed sitting at his desk, later moving to his bed and watching a random movie on his laptop. And he didn’t know how they ended up in their current position, but one sweet kiss he gave her randomly turned into more. And more. 

Until he was placing kisses down her neck and hearing her wonderful gasps in his ear. 

He pulled away, breathing hard and seeing her eyes glazed and hazy. They were in this position before, sure. They sometimes had heavy makeout sessions in his car, sneaking hasty and needy farewell kisses, not wanting to leave each other. 

But not like this. 

With them lying together on his bed, there was a heavier implication lying between them, and he didn’t know what to do. 

He didn’t want Anna to feel forced into doing anything. He wouldn’t forgive himself if he did that. He pulled away even more, even though Anna’s arms insistently wrapped around his neck to pull him back.

“Wait, wait.” He needed a moment to breathe. To think rationally with his head. He even shook it a bit to clear it from the haze.

“Are you okay?” 

“Yeah. More than okay.” He cupped her cheek with a soft smile. “I just wanted to check in with you.”

“Check in with me?” 

“Yeah. Is this what you want?” He asked softly, patiently. “We never really talked about this.” 

Anna looked at him speculatively with wide blue eyes and he sensed her hesitance that she didn’t put into words. Maybe she couldn’t. He pulled away completely and her arms didn’t follow him this time. 

“It’s not that I didn’t want to do this, I’m just a bit scared,” she whispered, and he lightly kissed her forehead. 

“Anna, we don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. I want you to know that.” 

“I know! But I didn’t want someone else to catch your interest, especially with all these grown up college girls around you all the time now. And then I didn’t want you to get frustrated with me, and…” she trailed off, looking away from him.

Other girls? When Anna was around? God, he loved her so much. How could she not see that? 

“Anna.” He gently coaxed her face upwards, and he smiled reassuringly when she finally met his gaze. “I love you. No matter what. No one else can ever compare to you, and no one else has caught my interest, ever. I’ll wait for you, even if it’s years.”

“Really?” 

“Really.” He nodded resolutely and she relaxed, her shoulders relieved of the tension she was carrying.

“I love you, Kristoff.” She reached up to kiss him. 

“I love you too.” And he meant it with all of his being. So much that it literally felt like it was overflowing. 

“The truth is, I’m scared of doing it, but then the girls were talking at school and they asked if I had ever slept with you. I got insecure because I told them we hadn’t done it yet and they said that you would go off and find it somewhere else if I didn’t do it soon. So I bought some condoms in my bag and planned to do it tonight, but I’m having second thoughts.” 

“Don’t listen to them. I’d never do that.” He frowned, but relaxed when she slightly nodded. He wanted to throttle them for giving her such insane ideas. “If you’re not ready, then I’m not ready.”

“You’re the best, you know that?” He felt her light giggle and he chuckled along with her. He wrapped her up in his arms, and pushed the blanket on top of them.

Anna leaned up and kissed him again, and then moved to place light kisses down his neck. “But can we still kiss?”

“Yeah, of course.” Kristoff grinned at her. “Just tell me to stop if you think I’m going too far.” 

“I will.”

* * *

The next morning Anna actually woke up earlier than him, her alarm going off on her phone. She rolled over with a grunt, picking it up and rubbing her eyes. 

“Kristoff,” she whispered. 

He acted like he was still asleep. “Hmm?” 

“I have to go soon.” 

He grumbled a response. “No.” He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and she giggled. “You’re not leaving me yet.” 

“Hmm. I have to,” she whispered, even though a smile was dancing across her face as he peeked an eye open. 

“Alright, alright. Just one more minute.” He pulled her closer and felt her hair trickle across his pillow, breathing in her scent and feeling the warmth of her body against his. 

He hoped that one day, this could be what he woke up to every morning. 

They both got up, brushed their teeth, and Anna brushed her hair that got tangled up during sleep. It was still early in the morning, very early by weekend standards, but he knew Anna needed to get back home at a reasonable time. 

After waking up Sven, they groggily walked downstairs to sign her out. Sven had given her a brotherly hug and a declaration to have her come visit again, much to her delight. 

He drove her the short way to the train station, and they stood on the platform eating treats and drinking some coffee they got at a bakery on the way. It felt odd being the one to send off the other person, but Anna kept it lighthearted and chatted about the next time they would see each other. 

He hoped that it would be soon, and he watched her eyes light up with stars when he said that. And as the time for the train to arrive ticked closer and closer, Kristoff held her hand just a bit tighter. 

But she had got onto the train, watching him outside of the window as she grabbed a seat by one, sticking her tongue out at him and laughing. He watched her train go away, and he felt oddly lonely, even though he knew it wouldn’t be long before he made a trip back to Arendelle. 

But classes had picked up at a startling pace, Kristoff feeling like he was being dragged along in the bustle and hustle of studying yet trying to balance invitations to parties, yet worrying about exams too. On top of that he felt bad for not having enough time to talk to Anna. 

He heard the lingering sadness in the tone of her voice whenever he had to go, and while he knew she understood, he couldn’t shake the sad feeling of hearing her voice lilt downwards in disappointment. 

But she never argued with him, she just told him to message her whenever he was free. And sometimes, he forgot. 

Midterms were fraught with nerves, as it was the first time he was taking those exams. While he thought he had prepped enough in it, the grades he got were lower than he thought he would get, and he felt guilty and that he needed to study more. 

Anna had consoled him over the phone, and while he hadn’t made any trips back to Arendelle yet, he ached to just go back to hear her voice in person. 

His next exams went much better than the midterms. 

He went back for Thanksgiving break, the four day weekend exciting him as he would be able to see his family, and especially Anna. It felt like ages since he had seen her, really talked with her, and gazed into her eyes. 

And when he got back during the night, he texted Anna to see if she was in her room and climbed the tree leading to it, just like how he did before. Her bright smile as she saw him warmed him even against the unforgiving cold wind blowing at his back. 

“Kristoff!” she said as she threw her arms around him. He did his best to balance on the branch he was sitting on. “Do you want to come in? It’s so cold out here!”

“I shouldn’t. I should actually go soon since my parents are expecting me, but I wanted to see you.” He cupped her cheek as she blushed, and she happily kissed him.

“I missed you so much.” Those words never failed to make him so happy. 

“I missed you too. What are your plans for tomorrow?” 

“Dinner party. Some of my dad’s work friends are coming over. It’s going to be so boring.” She rolled her eyes and scrunched her nose. 

“And before that?” 

“I don’t know. But I can probably make an excuse to see you.” She bit her lip and gazed at him through her lashes. 

“I’ll hold you up to that.” He grinned and she laughed while wrapping her arms around him and leaning out of the window.

“Okay, I gotta go now. My parents are gonna wonder where I am, and they can probably see my car in the driveway.” He chuckled.

“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

“See you tomorrow.”

The promise lifted his spirits as he quickly climbed down the tree.

* * *

Kristoff woke up with the sun shining in his face and a clamor of voices below. Like his mom exclaiming something happily. 

He got up and went to the bathroom, and he could hear the voices more clearly when he was in the hallway. And then he completely woke up when he heard Anna’s voice. She was here already.

Earlier than he expected, as he didn’t expect her to be up this early.

He got ready in record time, nearly running downstairs putting his button up shirt along the way. He was greeted by the sight of Bulda squishing Anna’s cheeks together. 

“Hi, Kristoff,” she said as best as she could with her cheeks squished together, and he stifled a chuckle behind a hand. 

“Morning. Mom, what are you doing?” 

“Oh, I just haven’t seen Anna in so long! I missed her so much I could resist pinching her cheeks a little. You still look beautiful as always,” she said to Anna.

“Thank you.” She looked at him. “Kristoff and I need to go, I promised him I would spend the morning with him.” 

“Of course! Will we be seeing you for Thanksgiving dinner tonight?” 

Anna’s eyes dimmed a little. “Oh, I’d love to, but my dad is throwing a dinner party with some esteemed guests and I need to go.” 

“That’s a shame, dear. But do know that you’re always welcome here.”

“Thank you.” He heard the gratefulness in Anna’s voice, her eyes glimmering.

“Alright, let’s go. I’ll see you later, ma!”

“You better be back in time to help cook!” 

“Yes, ma!” He chuckled along with Anna as he pulled her hand along out the door, grabbing his jacket along the way.

“Your mom is really sweet.” She lightly commented as they made their way to a local bakery. He was hungry after all.

“Yeah, she can be a bit much, but she means well.” 

“I really wish that I could join you guys for dinner tonight. But my dad…”

“Hey,” he squeezed her hand. “It’s alright. I know.” 

“I’m really not looking forward to tonight.” She sighed, looking out of the window as he parked. She didn’t make a move to get out of the car.

“Is it gonna be that bad?”

She bit her lip. “My dad has really been buckling down on making sure I go to a good college.” She air quoted “good.” He didn’t need to ask that she meant the university that her dad went to.

“He hasn’t budged?”

“No. But I have been thinking about it a lot.”

“To go to Corona?” He stared at her.

“No. I actually want to go to Ridgeview.” She fidgeted in her seat.

“Really? That’s pretty close to Arendelle.” She perked up when she saw that he wasn’t mad. And why would he be? 

She nodded enthusiastically. “And they have a great program for a degree in childhood education. And a co-op program that works with classes in the last year.” 

“It sounds like a perfect fit for you.” He grinned at seeing her so excited.

“Yeah! I brought up the idea to my dad but he completely shut it down. I’m trying to bring the idea up to my mom instead.” 

“Did you try it yet?” 

She shook her head sadly. “No. They’ve been arguing a lot lately. I don’t want to add more to her plate.” 

“I see.” 

She sighed, but smiled. “Come on. Let’s go inside.” 

The bakery was quaint, but lively. They grabbed a small table by the window and bought a number of delicious baked goods, with a latte for Anna. 

She seemed to perk up, and they strolled through the marketplace after, hand in hand. It was cold, and he felt the biting wind against his bare hand that nearly covered hers entirely, but he didn’t let go.

The afternoon sun nearly set by the time they made it back, and Anna hesitated to go back inside her house. She stared at the doorway as if it would open up and drag her back in itself. Kristoff noted the cars around the street, noting that there were more than usual. The party must have started already.

“Well, this is it, I suppose.” 

“Yeah. Call me later, after the party is over. I’ll pick up, no matter what.” 

“Yeah. I will.” Anna gave a tiny smile and she leaned up to give him a kiss. “Bye.” 

He had no choice but to go back to his own home, Bulda exclaiming that he was right on time and that she needed help with peeling potatoes.

He grinned at the chaos of his siblings running around the room as well. He missed these sounds, even if Sven was a good substitute for making them.

He was almost done peeling the potatoes, fairly competent at it now from doing it all these years, when there was a ring at the doorbell.

“I’ll get it,” he said as she saw Bulda struggling with grabbing something from the oven, and Cliff still arranging something on a plate.

When he opened the door, he was greeted with the sight of Anna. Blushing, wide eyed Anna.

“Can I take you guys up on that dinner offer?” She asked shyly.

“Sure,” he stammered out. “But what about your dad? And the dinner party?” 

She shrugged, a sad little smile gracing her lips. “He doesn’t really want me at the party.” She burrowed into her jacket a bit when a particularly cold burst of wind came about.

“Come on inside, Anna. It’s too cold out here.” He stepped aside and closed the door after her, grabbing her hands and rubbing them warm for good measure.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He softly asked, and she shook her head, gaze falling to the ground. He let it go. “Come on, I’ll take your jacket.” 

She stood there, and he wished he could know what happened to make her father so mad at her that he would kick her out of the party. 

“Oh, look who it is! Anna! Come to join us for dinner?” Bulda’s voice carried over from the kitchen doorway where she was holding a deep dish with oven mitts.

“Hi.” She waved shyly. “And yes, I have. I hope that’s okay?” Her voice lilted off in slight worry, and she looked to Kristoff. He just smiled at her. 

“Of course it is! I’m so happy you came!” Bulda had a wide grin on her face. Kristoff knew she would be happy to have her here. “Come on in!”

Kristoff followed Anna inside and pulled out her chair for her. 

“Such a gentleman,” she giggled. He felt the hot rush of blood go to his face. 

“Stop.” He chuckled. 

He went back to peeling potatoes. Anna sat there across from him, and even tried to help too. He put that to a stop _very quickly_ as she gave a soft yelp and almost cut herself. 

She laughed as she played with his little brothers and sister, and chased them around the room. He realized that he had a dopey smile on his face from watching her when Bulda came back and gave him a light smack on the head with a cheeky grin.

Before long, dinner was ready and Anna helped set the table. They were all seated, yes even the little kids were sitting politely there as they waited for everyone else to be ready. Anna sat next to him.

“It all smells so delicious!” Anna said, glancing at all the different dishes laid out on the table.

“Well, dig in then! Get it before it cools down!” 

Happy chatter erupted from the table as they ate, Anna looking happier than ever. Especially better than how she looked standing there in the doorway. 

“You’re pretty. You’re Kristoff’s girlfriend, aren’t you?” His little sister asked with innocent wonder.

“Yes, I am.” She snuck a glance over at Kristoff.

“Are you guys gonna get married?” 

Anna blushed heavily and Kristoff had to jump in. “It’s way too early to think about that,” he said. 

“Aww, why?” 

“It’s gross, that’s why!” His brother said.

“Leave them alone, dear. Come on, eat some more greens.” Bulda stepped in.

“But I don’t want to!” 

“You have to.” 

The conversation quickly steered away from them, and Kristoff gave a sigh of relief. Anna squeezed his hand from underneath the table, and he glanced over at her to see that she wasn’t mad.

“Love you.” She mouthed to him. 

“Love you too.” 

They stood outside Anna’s home after dinner was over. Bulda was especially cheerful today, and he was happy that his mom was happy. 

He sensed Anna’s worry at going back, and he felt the same. She didn’t let it stop her from giving him a hug though, and she kissed him sweetly. She promised him that she would call him later, and she went through the door.

He stood outside for a minute, wondering if she would really be alright before trudging home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The muse has blessed me! Lol, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I had a lot of fun writing it, and hopefully the muse stays long enough to help me write more of this quicker. 
> 
> As always, thank you so so much for your feedback and kudos! I really appreciate them!
> 
> Have a nice rest of your night! 🥰


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